Customer Touchpoints

What are customer touchpoints?

What makes your business stand out from the rest?  What makes you as a sales person stand out so that both people and your client base trust you anyway?

 From a customers point of view ever business has product and costs. These are givens.  But why do they allow you in the door?  What makes them want to do business with you and keep coming back or referring your service to others?

What are the little things that make customers come back?

Pleasant decor.

• Is their somewhere for the client that has to wait on your time to log into the wi-fi service?  Can they make a cuppa?  Is the music so loud that they really have to go - now! Good lighting, pleasent smells. Clean restrooms.

Appropriate storage capacities.

• A mechanics shop that has a pile of everything everywhere would make people think that their car will be done ... when it is found... later.
• Where as a mechanic shop that has everything in it';s place and a place for everything gives the first impression of a faster more through service because of streamlining and time management aspects.
• A home business that has a well looked after frontage gives the illusion that the people inside care for their things.  Therefore they will care for your business - not spreading everything around for competitors to 'take'.

Extras that cost

• Hidden fees and unclear billing statements are not something that the customers have budgeted for.  After a delay in payment to you will they really be coming back?

Buzzworthy side effects of good touchpoints

First off when people actually get something that they were not expecting they will comment on it.  Maybe not to you, but word of mouth gets around through their friends.  Especially over the internet as many customers both research the products they want to purchase before purchasing.  When they find what they are looking for a 'share or like' may occur.  Then they will tell others about what they have purchased.  Word of mouth like this is quick and does your business well.  The reverse is also true.

Valuing the customers time and energy may be a little thing that you can 'show' your business cares about.  Having small chocolates individually rapped, or biscuits in their own wrapper placed next to the refreshment stand allows freedom of choice for the customer. Having an empty plate or container means that someone has not been keeping tabs on the freebee's. It really is the  little things are something that your customers value above and beyond the basic product that they came in to purchase.

How to find out what your customers are saying about you.

• Simply - ask them.  
• Listen to what the customers have to say.  Verbally as well as on the internet.
• Listen to on--line conversations with a # and your company name straight after the #.  Anything on-line within that servers platform will come up.  Get back to these customers quickly.  Rectify the problem before word of mouth becomes a viral backlash.
• Be easily found on the net.
• Engage with customers, and other people through the forums, microblogging and commenting on their comments or feeds.
• Create focus groups.
• be active within these focus groups.
• Being proactive and bringing up topics for conversation gets your business name [and your one too] seen on the top of peoples comments.
• Remain within your focus as this will give you and your customers the direction your business is in.
• Ground braking technology input when all someone really wants is to collect a cuppa and something to eat could and will put them off returning.

Customer touchpoints are not always obvious.  The touchpoints are sensory pleasures or displeasures.  When painful or just not there another brand fill the void.  Your potential customers will simply go there.

Commit to your Business Plan learning

Yes the effective Business Plan you draw up might be made up of a little bit of this, some of that and a pinch more for taste. This business plan might even sustain you until it's run its duration.  However what happens when you go back it it an try making that next step.  Do all the pieces integrate allowing the progress towards achieving all your objective actually be grow and be achieved.

You really do need a business plan.  One that has short term, medium term and long term goals.  The simple thing about making this plan is that really you need to have a focus objective. 

The work out what your objectives are to gain your primary goal.  Complement these with strategies of how you are gong to achieve the overall goal. Simple so far is it?  

Not really however knowing what you want to focus on makes a great number one point.

If you want to bake a cake why then are you making a bread or cooking dinner?  Deciding what type of cake,  for who to eat and the suitability of that cake be makes you involved with the decisions. In this case strategies] 

However being committed to baking the cake means everything has been laid out, you know the answers to these questions, you have a time line.  The first step has been taken.  Being committed is when on ingredient has mixed with another. When you have now committed to baking a cake. 

Making a business plan, acting on it and then reviewing and then being able to  redraw/ alter up another is making that learning factor a commitment to progress.

Just Sleeping on it.

There are few jobs where a lowering of social conscience is not accompanied by a lowering ethics.
Sharlyn Lauby writes a great short post that raises Sleep Deprivation and Ethics issues. Wikipedia states that sleep depreciation "adversely affects the brain and cognitive function."  While there is definite regonition that sleep deprecations is an impairment of ability factor and Amnesty International lists sleep as a form of torture just who is responsible for putting the pressure on, effectively Bulling someone into constantly being on the go while they are on call or actively meant to be in a working situation.

Think of being in a position where you initially stand your ground. You turn off both the machinery you operate and then yourself in order to get that nights sleep. Refreshed both you and the consumers can now use the machinery safety being a priority.  Then something alters.  You take on that extra job just to help out.  Some one wants a day off so you cover.  Gradually what was not normal before has become normal now. Just when the pre training takes precedence over an incident is up to not only the individual but the communities culture the individual enters into. Hence the reason why business are subjected to stronger law suits than the employee.  That is if the employee can obtain and pay for good council while paying the 'lawyers' waiting game. Often setting out of court then finding the life quality has diminished further as they are now known as whistle blowers.

At this point subjective behaviour steps in. Steven Brown states that: ...." the person's subjectivity as such constitutes an actual event which exists in it's own right and is measurable in it's own terms..." Behaviour and impairments being similar to the excess blood alcohol levels sometimes a break down of personal wellness is the trigger.

Through out our lives various behaviour programming occurs. Think about a foreigner to the cultural community you are in.  Say a foot baller attending a boxing match. Or a Vegan attending an event where sitting down to a roast meat meal or eggs and bacon breakfast is obligatory. What do they do? What would you do as the host, the guest next door or even the vegan themselves? Subliminal triggers are released causing judgement decisions to occur relating to the social conventions and poor risk analysis of the guest, the other guests, and the host.

Think of the professional people transporting driver who by convention must drive on the correct side of the road. The brain goes into overload a mini sleep occurs. Hopefully waking up before the accident happens.  Gets a fright . Adrenalin pumps into the system.  They get home and thank their lucky stars and God for another chance to see daylight, kiss their families and play with the dogs.  Then one day something else happens.  This time they realise that through lack of sleep, both drivers are needing an adrenalin fix to keep going. While one person is not transporting the other has picked up clients.  Really dangerous situation.  STOP.  Where are the ethics here?  Besides leaving what do they do, who can they report too?

The eventual effect of being lulled into these situations are depression, anxiety and stress conditions accompanied by guilt should injury or death occur to others. In these situations "...sleep deprecation has the same hazardous effects as being drunk. People who drove after being awake for 17 - 19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol limit of 0.05percent."

Does ethics have a tangible as well as an intangible price tag.  The answer is yes.

Grab a concept.

Consider your companies views regarding the Internet, it's usage, leverage, belief and ethic systems all ready in place.

Before you charge on ahead, going where angels fear to tread, have a good understanding of exactly what the combination of the companies strategies and objects exactly are. Then look again the vision and mission statements just to be sure you are working within these guidelines. Study carefully the social media policy... or lack of one.

You know the what, the  where's and how too. This knowledge is of great worth to any company that uses it. However, by the 'self-value' not being understood even by yourself the effect lessons the other values - that your hard earned skills, certificates and experiences have all cost you to get.  Put your price on them. Work at not lowering what you have going for you.

I say this, as when you charge on ahead, out of this realm and falling into a danger zone of having no support, you will be overused, unsupported and frustrated... just to name a few.  There goes both your anxiety and stress levels off the measurable chart, taking with it your health and sapping your energy poor time management. Especially since there are so many variables to put into place [sites to use, information, research to gather, writers and other multimedia and techno savvy people to train and work as a team] just so the first post can flutter onto a web page.

If you are already heading this way... STOP. Sit back and reassess what and where you currently are.  Why you were heading that way?  Begin thinking out of the box just to get another point of view. Remember and action that fact that you are not a prisoner of work but a Person of Worth  [P.O.W]

Presenting a morphed before and after vision leads to ongoing sales

The power of animation is so strong that simulations confer "pseudomemories".  Basically by the sales person supplying a pseudomemory  as a trigger tool the sales person is setting the seen for a is an imposed memory or trigger to gain hold. How the client needs to settle their mind.

You know your product is the best.  Simply dropping the prodct and running is not doing the client or yourself any favours.  The client is in need. Fearful of being sues, being left behind, knowing that you will have other people to see.

The real motivation to stay with you and your company is the reward of doing something and being recognised. Ask them which photos they would like placed in the Safety and Security blog that is a free publication emailed to interested parties.  Advertising is very expensive.  The situation of giving the clients business recognition for ongoing sales, or even spending time having a cuppa or meeting at a shared club activity is important.  Either way the client and sales person is in a win / win situation.

That paperwork again!

• Paper work is important, be it through pen on paper or multi media means. Channelling the correct paper work through the parties involved keeps communication up front and moving on. Keep your finger on the pulse here through tracking the information as it goes through the organisation you are representing.
• Reports are a two way means of keeping everyone informed.
• Updating the journal and diary entries you keep. 
• Filling out the surveys.
• Reading newspapers, the net, and stream lined emails will assist in keeping you ahead or just on top of what is happening. The possibilities are endless so act on them yourself or through contacting your head salesman or other appropriate person.

• Today the use of multi media is prevalent.  Should things ever go to court what bis actually written in hard copy stands up in court. Anything else is an opportunity for fraud as it can be electronically tampered with or whipped out in a instant. Yes the disks may be unscrambled... at whose cost?.

Where do I sign.

When people are swayed to change their habits, ideas or principles, something has occurred to trigger this action flow.  Often people sow seeds that make another person uncomfortable, causing inner turmoil or conflict. When this sowing is done with positive regard for the other persons situation the result is called "Cognitive Dissonance".

People that have good sales technique often use cognitive dissonance as a central component to many forms of persuasion.  The challenge of changing beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours of the client starts when the sales person knows their product, but listens to what the client is actually asking for.  The sales person then tailors what they have to offer into what the client wishes to hear.

Dissonance basically means holding two conflicting thoughts at the same time. By the sales person fully listening to the client, then tailor making their presentation to meet the needs analysis 'he' has done as the client has explained their situation, the sales person has just done three very important steps.

Where are the tomato plants

1. The sales person has got the client to explain why they actually want the product that the sales person is selling.
2. The client passively wants it but is also trying to self explain away the fears from not having it.
3. Now the clients inability to rationalize and explain the conflict between wanting and not having it causes a need for the void to be filled. 

In effect the client has just tilled the soil, fertilized it, grabbed a hand full of seeds and is in the process of sowing those seeds.  The sales person just has to assist the client with the choice of seeds or transplanting actual plants for a quicker harvest time.

At this point the client has had to

1. Change their behaviours from a 'no' situation to a 'I must have' situation. Using the seed situation the client has gone from believing the soil would benefit from being left alone for another year, into planting cheery tomatoes.
2. Needs to justify their behaviour by changing the conflicting cognition. Cherry tomatoes are more productive than asparagus as the crop will be more immediate.
3. Then the client will justify their behaviour by adding new cognitions. Next year I will companion plant with...

In effect, what has happened is that the client has just talked themselves into signing on the bottom line.

Practice delivering your message.

Delivering your message in a quiet yet effective method may be appropriate at some times yet inappropriate at others.

By practising with family, pets, even in mirrors and on strangers you will begin to deliver your message naturally without forcing an issue or faking the self appreciation and self confidence level.

Mix your message with a firmness and cheerfulness that is concurrent with your "positive trust me" body language. Then believe in both what you are selling - yourself, you company and the product.

Exit with appreciated thanks

Are you scared of making yourself to raw or of having your trust smashed? What happens when you refer someone on  and there is a much up.  Things just did not work out, ended up messy, with painful repercussions and complicated outcomes?

When  a salesperson approaches someone in the visited building that salesman is asking the other person to represent them. In effect to trust them, make a complimentary judgement and then refer them higher up. Your network of people has increased.  The referrer has opened the door to you.  All this work so why would you want to have it slammed behind you?

That same salesman wants, and needs, to make a good impression in order to better the commission chance - correct?

Here is the crunch. Often people approach someone , they refer them on, consequently the referrer gts trampled on if the sales person attitude rubs the boss the wrong way, or simply offers a good product at the wrong time.

As the sales person disappears out the door the referrer does not even get a good bye or a thank you.

Take time to make a good impression on the way in.  remember that it is not the way in you are remembered for but your exit.  Spend that time personally saying your thanks.  Leave the referer a card as a complimentary thank you please remember me ticket into your  next call back.  The time you spend leaving the place you have enetered makes for a more relaxed acceptance for when you do a follow up.  The relaxed attmosphere rather than the chilled 'over there' nod has already marked you in their bosses eyes.

Thirty seconds spend in acknowldegement when leaving gains you miles and minutes when you finally pitch your wears to the boss.

Interacting and communicating with others

Having gained, practised and put into place effective people skills takes time, commitment and effort. Interacting with your business, employment or those who are you target audience challenges and expands these skills still further. Using these skills to communicate with people, while they in turn have a base to form trust from, is a method successful used effective sales people.

To the point - to gain successful sales means that the sales person has to use effective people skills, backed up through supported decision making processes. Backing management allows the new sales person to reach a decision on their own, implement that decision, take responsibility for the outcomes from that decision, move forward having learned from the actions and counter reactions.

 Primarily for the sales person to obtain the help that enables them to further develop confidence, communicate well and establish a rapport with other people, an initial stepping stone should be implemented. This could be as simple as using the introductory and handshake phase to garner the control of the situation. to have this control stabilised and past through to others the whole time you are their selling.

Once the people skills go up, the sales go up. Confidence is given by both parties. People like the way business is handled.  They become relaxed. The people skills go up to a new bench mark level.

The ass way of doing things

Adopting a dualistic approach to building a successful business just does not work.  Effectively disharmony crashes in through the door when a business is trying to work at two poles apart. If the primary head of the business wants to work with two polarities, on the one vision, then there is a wide gap between all facets of the business. What must happen is that the range of activities either comes closer merging in a mediocre nature [of the middle line] or the diversification must slow down while one pole of activity is built, then the other. Mildly putting it - either way the owner of the business will not be satisfied. Diversionary tactics must be unleashed so that the owner will get out of your hair while you correct up the mess and deal with the other problems.

Communication is a form of 'art'. ...An art form.   Just try and explain to someone who is used to seeing their world from one perspective how to change what and how they see things - through the eyes of another.  That person knows about  what is out there.  They may be very aware of how everything fits into place.  What that person has not yet experienced is how to use their 'learned' knowledge into something of use to them.to fit into  this present situation.

For instance a person dealing in sales may have a retail certificate.  Yes they know how sales are conducted after the point of choice being confirmed. What they do not yet have is the practical working knowledge of how to use this retail certificate theory in  another work related sales area.  For instance a sales staff member re-learning their trade to become part of a Sales Markets sweep team.  One that goes from business to business 'drumming up business'. Rather than working together to overcome a "knowledge argument" qualia the two 'sides' involved in the performance argument get into the non- progress mode and will not address conflict.  One yell at the other and lets off steam, the other does not perform well with their tasks. Now they are in trouble.

While helping to diversify base line of the business I am working with a needs analysis was complied.
The following was found:

Primarily links between teams was of a low to very poor level.

• There was no sales coming in. The reasons were various, hard hitting. Overall this issue needed to be dealt with while simultaneously creating anew and building another sales team up.
• Other than a practically non-existent sales team the main thrust of the business did not know how business is garnered.
• The main business source of the income were simply being mismanaged by people with hidden agendas.
• In house training appeared one sided as performance issues were not being resolved.

In summary there was a conflict occurring.  The resolution became clear when the situation was viewed from outside the "box".  Since not everyone could, or wanted to, become position C it meant that everyone coming in would go through Position A, then be on- trained trough to B or C, or D e.t.c. The rational is that with everyone knowing exactly how hard the "drumming of the business was to get" the people in the original position C, as well as the expanded positions B, D, E... would better appreciate their role in building the business business up.  In short the professional performance would be better benchmarked to. While this better performance was adhered to other business would come through as customers would benefit and refer on in a positive word of mouth format. 

The practical side of this is that the business sales team has grown. The new ones are being mentored by those with various skills and now sales experience.  The person in head of sales has begun to coordinate where the base sales team are going each day, they have a follow up-sheet presented to them that was collated from the knock back lists the day before.

During the week those in sales communicate by phone, text, knock back sheets, follow up sheets and in house dialogue.

Once a week there is a sales team meeting. All issues and strategies are open for dialogue. 

Developing the strategy, while implementing the logistics of having a functioning, creative and active sales team as part of the in-house training has already see positive effects. 

Way to go

Cowardice is a form of In-built self-defence. The energy spent by not raising to meet new benchmarks every day of our lives, sucks our potentials away until there is nothing left, but a husk of our former selves. So be reflective, make adjustments but get out there and expand your comfort zone.

Recently I was in dialogue with a few members of our direct management team.  Having a list of what was actually holding up the inward money flow was an important step. The list was a tangible face facts mission statement.  Laid out for all of us to see.  Now action could be taken.  Importantly responsibility for that action was also both acknowledged and given.  Sounds strange one would say.  But if the upper management will not divulge some aspect that places all the pieces together, then others on the team  have difficulty fighting through the floss of what actually needs doing.

• Action one: Related to name changes of business. Owners only could do this.
• Action two: Update and sort out the financial aspects of the books.  Owners, accountant and book keeper to achieve this.
• Action three: Lay out the five year plan for the business. Owners to have major input.  Each person within the business circle to add their contributions to the main projections of goals. My field here was to connect  all the pieces and on sell the ideas as they emerged from concept to a marketable time management program.
• Action four: Public Relations development  - primarily my field. With the business teams skills/ talents/ dreams and desires lists a future development pathway has be pencilled out. 
• Action five: Develop the teams to active these goals.

Although all of us had actions, none of us could effectively do anything, unless we communicated to work together, cognitively was hampered. Then with cohesive working ability got out there and made it happen.

It is happening

Add an appoinment calendar

Yip just that.  Google now has an appointment calendar to add to your blog face.

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The wheel is round, it has no end.

When a fresh new person goes into a new employment area they are mentored. While that new person intermingles with people with more experience, various skills and knowledge basis levels, they are being directed into keeping that business on track within the businesses practices according to that business's charter. The new person has to allow themselves to be mentally probed, opened up, redirected and re-trained in order for that business to accept both themselves and their skills within that business inclusivly protective walls.  This said- what is experienced by the new person, that new person will do back to the business.   Each are looking for a level of safety, survival, security and longevity.

 There are many unknowns and "gray areas" for all to consider. As the new person settles in and works towards being accepted, many things implode on their comfort zones. Mentors provide a bridging gap between the business processes and internal social gap and the new employees knowledge base. When a gaping void between two benchmarks is discovered by the newer employee they become aware of yet another grey area to bring to the Mentors attention. As this discovery process is happening the new employee is shown how things are actually are, compared to how things should be. Seen with a different perspective the Mentor explains what the company is going to do about the tangible and intangible aspects that have created that said void. Does the company have policies, how are these policies implemented? Who needs to know about it? Mentors have a place in training the new employee through the processes.

Voids need to be dealt with not covered up.

 Negative vortex's on the other hand are like a whirl wind. Vortexes [positive or negative] disturb the peace and progress. Usually there are other smaller vortex trailing around and behind a central Vortex. Each feeding off the other until the course of events has travelled its path.  Nothing is ever the same again. As the destructive negative vortex gets nearer the voids around them get dragged into the negative of that vortex.  The solid foundations and walls of any business needs to have been strengthen through reinforcement, not temporally shored up [propped up].Using the example of the Global Financial Crash [GFC] of 2008 as an example of an external negative vortex many business's that did not have the foresight or resources suffered greatly. While some were never heard of again others had the forethought, or ability, to have changed their focus, to  fix up weak areas, while staying afloat managed to stay in business. While some business later sold up others took the hits and stood the test of time For instance Marketing America had $80 million dollars in their bank mid October 2011.  This company was only 15 years old at that point. Why was what Marketing America working causing a large growth rate during the years from the GFC to then? One answer is that the motto of the Marketing Australia motto is "Built on Product. Powered by People". Through mentoring processes Marketing America taught it's values and ethics. As a 'family' of people moving forward sharing a common vision Marketing America strength in it's strategies did not allow the GFC negative vortex to brake up the business. In this example Marketing America is seen as a positive vortex. As a result many people have benefited.  Literally a negative vortex hit a positive vortex.

New employees or members, questions are a form of constant evaluations regarding the process, strengths and weakness of company policy and methodology. Therefore there is the likelihood that a newer employee, who sees things through a different perspective, may see the voids or approaching negative vortex more clearly will be greater. This newer perspective is what the mentor needs to nurture - or it might get squished and not flourish. A negative result is that the business falters and does not grow.

 Any business that does not take note of the voids, putting into place methods to deal with the said void  through an ongoing complete needs analysis and evaluation  is heading for trouble.  The new persons ability to communicate with others, particularly the mentor, to brainstorm what is actually happening as a team effort, to acknowledge and take the steps of what needs to be done in combination to how the business charter repairs the gray area is very valuable to the business. The mentor should respect, nurture and develop this leadership potential 

The mentor not only offers protection with knowledge but boundaries and support to that new employee. The flip side of this support being given is that the Mentor receives loyalty, understanding and full honest communication as this two way path is earned.  Understand these two things.

• The mentor and the new employee will develop a bond. 
• All training, understanding, knowledge etc is energy. This energy does not flow between one and another in a circular motion.  Unlike a vortex the Mentor will not suck the employee into their forcefield and turn the emplyee into their clone.  Instead the energy flows in a figure of eight pathway crossing over at two polar points. At these polar points other pathways of energy exchange are occurring.  At the end of the mentoring both the employee and the mentor have shared and grown. They will still be individuals with ideas, brain patterns and methods of doing something to achieve the same outcome slightly varying. A new er employee may be mentored by either of the above and the company strengthens and benefits. 

Mentors are there to reinforce those with less knowledge, on the wise choices to make. When the newer employees unwise choices result, or short cuts skipped, have effectively back fired and proceed then to fall apart, then  the mentor has already a network set up to halt the total onset of destruction. The mentor incorporates the company charter, the laws of the land, ethics, cultural awareness and a sense of morals into the redevelopment of the employee and their actions while using the mentors own skills, knowledge and networks to teach the employee the five basic things. These being -who, what, when, where and how things are meant to be, how they should be.

 The circle is round and knows no end. New trends will open new voids. New employees or members mean new looks into the procedures. Among other things the introduction of time management and technological advancements are moving and changing the business culture along with them. Through the reinvestment of time, energy and sound knowledge,  the employee and their skills do not disappear thus the business's growth will continue to flourish.

The business will have developed methods to rise and meet other new challenges. The business of mentoring does not reinvent the wheel.  However mentoring allows a team effort to have the wheel ready [in storage and checked out when necessary] for a flat tyre not to turn into a major disaster.

Step 1 with business communication building structures

Communication begins at home right?

Replace the word home with "business". Now choose one or more of the following add ons:

• Between the others and you <-> you and the others.
• Between yourself and what you want <-> what you want and what the others need you to do.

The third one is : What you want to do <-> what your body limits are !

Take three pieces of paper strips. label them as above.

Place the  <-> above each other, while the "arms" form a six pronged star.

The star is actually a six forked communication process that meets up through a central point. To have balanced energy flow the 'energy' must always be able to flow from one side to the other and back again continuously in harmony. Back a forward.

 Sometimes the amount of pressure the incoming arm exerts on the meeting point may block up and try to force a blow out or take over of the focal meeting point.  Should this happen the equilibrium of the six armed communication meeting point is thrown out of balance. 

Imagine a person who begins work for what ever the reasons are. In the beginning all three communication junctions are functioning evenly. Energy comes.  Energy flows through the other arms interchanging with energy from the other arms.  Harmonious. 

Both the person, and those around them, are able to communicate. Knowledge and skills are passed on and freely swapped.  The business prospers.

Over time the communication from one arm is either choked off or blocked off.  The arm becomes  toxic. Effecitively communication gangreen sets in.  The wellness balance is affected. No one knows what is happening, what needs to happen and why it is happening.

In an ideal world this point would not be reached.  people leave, contacts and contracts being to vanish. tensions rise. the blame game occurs.  No matter what way it is seen the situation fast destructs into a Lose / Lose situation.

To begin to rectify this situation watch what is happening.  Now Is what is happening process falling within the business or project charter? 

• Collect data. 
• Create a needs analysis from what you see happening.
• Compare what is happening to the benchmarks set out in the business / project charter.
• The part [gray area] between what is happening and what is desired to happen is the focus of the needs analysis.
• Draw up a needs analysis. 
• Ask for help with this project.

When people start to come on board the attitude will change.  Be warned it is a long road to get to the end.  However the journey with many people travelling in the same direction is usually fun, fulfilling and very rewarding.

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Listing the challenges faced.

Needs analysis re a one month project called 'The 2011 Traralgon Show'

 The challenges are laid out as follows

• time frame differences.
• transportation means unable to meet timetable.
• language struggles.
• forming a work in progress team of basically unknown people.
• talents and skills of the team are not known to others or maybe the work in progress team members themselves.
• depth of understanding re where a project fits into the overall scheme of lang term goal.
• experience / depth of use re using an IT media. 
• the variety of IT gadgets that can be used to used to participate.
• using a means of communication that brings all the ideas "to the Table" for further co-development without loosing any that may be used in another activity project.
• stream lining these ideas into a media [blog] with which many are uncomfortable using.  

Read more for the strategies worked out

Strategies to meet the needs analysis

Follow on from listing the challenges
Strategies towards meeting needs analysis with the project

• Use a holistic approach that achieves a defined project focus.
• Define the project as -  2011 Traralgon Show- showcase 
• Ownership and 'creative license' by team members of project while developing that working team.
• Some initial working ethos to be there at the beginning while further development occurs.
• Use technology skills within group and their network.
• Train all members to have initial working ability that enables the members to participate in the intra-exchange of knowledge through the technology and skills levels already in action.
• Expand the comfort zones of team members so that use of new machinery, technology or situations are able to be turned into positive outcomes rather than fearful ones.
• Introduce through use of documentation that has instructions for use. 
• Successfully network through as many people and social networking sites as possible. 
• Have diverse multi stream employment opportunities within company guide lines.
• Create enough positive PR for flow on 'jobs' through the company to assist with above commitments.

Did I mention about the critical review happening  Transparency in the results and... it keeps on going. Just hang in there

Karma

A few years ago a young lady had an opportunity to gain experience as a secretary with some receptionist options.  The employment was with a firm that changed the rules as the boss desired.

During the actual time away from the home base the workers stuck together.  They did not like the fact that the employer had booked two rooms for 6 people.  The employers idea was to stick the young lady in with the seasoned men's sleeping dorm while he slept next door.  Luckily for the young lady one of the workers realised that he had worked with her father a few years earlier.   The young lady ended up next door so that she could do the typing required and not 'drive the men crazy with key board tapping' as she worked.

Things went from 'bad to worse' work wise.  The employer did not meet her wages, used her phone bill into the thousands, took her expensive reading glasses, only brought beer instead of coffee or tea. The workers tried to protect the young lady in her naivety. Eventually I was called onto the scene.

I had later talked to all the employees and found that they knew that after a hard 12 hour day -cutting logs up- they could come back to a substantial  home cooked meal, clean bedding and room.  All they had to do was put money in the food kitty and have a shower before they came to the table!

After two and a half months the young lady went home.  A ride to a highway was organised for her via the local off duty police man. A truck driver known to be a relative of the police man just happened to be passing and 'stopped' for a chat.  Strange as it may seem that truck just happened to be going past the young ladies door!.... about eleven hours travelling time away.

To this day nine years later I often wonder what happened to those men when the boss found out that the young lady had gone.  I had heard that the tuck had got impounded through men wanting what was their friends wages and expenses. that the employers wife had a holiday she had always wanted [care of the justice system] and that the employers business had ceased to exist and he was unemployable... or soon became unemployed.

Ho hum.

4 steps for a get 'there' goal.

The need is to directly communicate with others to achieve a goal.

Sometimes the awareness of the following dot point list is jumbled at best. Meaning the sequence of events may be repeated often until another step is moved through.

• Become aware that there is a potential negative aspect of work in progress.
• Complete a needs analysis
• Use the vision and mission as a support guide line.
• Work out strategies designed which enable the objectives to come within the guide lines. 

Our get there goal is to have a stall at the 2011 Traralgon Show.

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Taking up a challenge to "market" a something into being that success where you and the employees get the maximum benefits in today's entrepreneurial world means that you need everyone's participation.

Induction and short weekly updates or training sessions mean that employees become aware and informed of decisions   Even better they have an opportunity for direct dialogue that affects that decision-making process.

With the decisions making processes having a full participation strategy the processes allow you to

• Know what you are actually marketing.
• What drawbacks to the typical approaches are in rolling out a shareable income.
• Current best methods are shared on 
• how to use a basic promoational mix that promotes the sales.
• who can do what within the firms contact basis.
• What communication strategies are set up, how they work and why the employee benefits when using them.
• What a few challenges are with marketing and promotion.
• Which best practices are when marketing the promotion.